WHIPP – Ending the nightmare called parking

Parking, in large cities in the US, has always been a major problem, and with more and more cars being added to the number each day, parking has turned out to be a nightmare for both drivers as well as parking operators.

Although much of the blame was on the archaic revenue control system that was prevalent, there was no way to stop the billions of dollars that were being lost in the process.

In April 2014, two young entrepreneurs from the Greater LA area launched a parking technology company that provided a solution to this problem. Christian Young, a lawyer-turned-entrepreneur who had launched three successful start-ups till 2014, and Justin Junda, an ex-Google engineer, started the business that was soon upscaled, and is today one of the top apps being used by drivers across the US.

WHIPP: Parking on Demand simplified the process of operations for parking lot owners and operators. By utilizing beacon based hardware, WHIPP simplified the backend solution to handle real-time inventory, making their lives simpler. But it also helped end a similar nightmare for drivers by further upgrading the technology to include direct services to drivers.

With Christian Young’s experience in up-scaling start-ups, he soon realized that it would be beneficial for the company if they could reach out to a larger user group. So instead of just supporting back-end parking lot providers, WHIPP planned to expand its user base to the other group that was the next most affected. This was realized by upgrading the technology to create an app that could directly be used by drivers.

Justin Junda, the co-founder, worked with Christian to create the WHIPP app, which helped end a similar nightmare for drivers. The app allows drivers to check-in and check-out of parking lots on their own terms, only paying for the time actually used. It removes the entire cycle of parking kiosks, ticket machines, coins, running out time, and tickets. The app is available in iOS devices and can handle billing transactions.

WHIPP, started by two largest parking operators in the nation, is currently in operation across 100 test locations including 70 airports through national parking partners. It was awarded as a promising start-up by the Lloyd Greif Center for Entrepreneurial Studies in 2015.

Initially, the start-up was supported by the Lamppost Group, a venture incubator that offers aspiring entrepreneurs with financial investment and business guidance. The initial success of the company led to the backend software being acquired by Republic Parking in May 2017.

Continuing with the trend, this was the third start-up launched and guided by Christian Young to be scaled up and merged with a bigger name in the industry.